BANGKOK — A series of crane collapses in Thailand over two consecutive days has drawn intense international media attention and renewed scrutiny of the country’s construction safety standards.
The latest incident occurred on Rama II Road in Bangkok on the morning of 15 January, a day after a construction crane collapsed onto a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, killing and injuring dozens of people.
The BBC reported that the two incidents involved the same contractor, Italian-Thai Development Plc, one of Thailand’s largest construction companies. The broadcaster said the accidents highlighted how serious incidents at construction sites remain frequent in Thailand, partly due to weak enforcement of safety regulations.
The BBC added that over the past seven years, about 150 people have been killed in accidents on the highway from Bangkok to southern Thailand, much of which has been under construction. The road has been dubbed a “road of death” because of repeated accidents.
It also reported that the same contractor had been responsible for a high-rise building that collapsed after a strong earthquake in March last year, while other nearby buildings did not collapse.
The South China Morning Post reported that Thailand’s poor construction safety record had again come under heavy criticism after the two crane collapses, placing Italian-Thai Development under renewed scrutiny as the contractor at both sites.
The Associated Press reported that the crane collapse in Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima, killed 32 people after a crane used for the Thai–Chinese high-speed rail project fell onto a passing train. It said the railway is intended to link China with Southeast Asia.
AP also noted that a tunnel on the same high-speed rail project collapsed in August last year, killing three workers.
The news agency said the latest accidents had fuelled public anger, as Italian-Thai Development was also the contractor for a State Audit Office building in Bangkok that collapsed after an earthquake in March last year, killing nearly 100 people. It was described as the deadliest earthquake-related building collapse in Thailand.